Budget 2025-26: Sitharaman chairs 4th pre-budget meet with key stakeholders

On Tuesday this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with a panel of distinguished economists and thought leaders at NITI Aayog on the strategies for the Union Budget 2025-26

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth pre-budget consultation on Thursday, engaging with experts and stakeholders from the export, trade, and industry sectors in preparation for the Union Budget 2025-26.  

 

“Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt @nsitharaman chairs the fourth pre-budget consultation with stakeholders and experts from export, trade, and industry sectors in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2025-26, in New Delhi, today,” the Ministry of Finance mentioned in a social media post on X. 

 

The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Finance Secretary, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary of DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management), and the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India.

 

Earlier this week on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with a panel of distinguished economists and thought leaders at NITI Aayog on the strategies for the Union Budget 2025-26.

Pre-budget consultation in Jaisalmer

On 20 December in Jaisalmer, Sitharaman attended another pre-budget meeting with finance ministers from the different states and union territories. That meeting was attended by chief ministers from Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, and Odisha besides deputy chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana. Crucial finance ministry officials in attendance included the secretaries of Economic Affairs and Expenditure.

 

Other pre-budget consultations 

Sitharaman held a string of consultations with various groups such as MSMEs, farmers’ associations, and economists. Such consultations are an important component of the annual Budget-making exercise conducted by the Finance Ministry to ensure that the policy is inclusive and effective.

 

The Union Budget for 2025-26, which is going to be announced on February 1, 2025, would be the eighth Budget that Sitharaman shall present as Finance Minister of India. This year will be giving critical insight coupled with forward-looking strategies through which the economic trajectory shall be going in India post the rest of the terms of the Modi 3.0 government.